


The Lonely Spring

by Homerun15



Series: Chub Live! Sunshine!! [6]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival (Video Game), Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chubby Mari, Chubby RIko, Depression, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mild Language, Post-Canon, Weight Gain
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-20 06:01:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16550288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Homerun15/pseuds/Homerun15
Summary: It's spring. Mari has left for Italy, meaning Riko is by herself in Uchiura.





	1. Chapter 1

Spring had sprung, aqours had won Love Live, and Mari had moved to Italy for university. It was a tearful goodbye for all of aqours, but Riko was oddly calm when it happened. This is because Riko and Mari already had said goodbye the previous night, where they cried for a while together. This left Riko by herself in Japan. Of course, she had Chika and You as well as the first years to talk to, but Riko still felt pretty lonely without Mari nearby. The 8-hour difference in time didn’t help either. Riko was lonely, and it left a hole in her heart. How does one such as Riko fill a hole? With copious amounts of food of course! It’s been about 3 weeks since Mari had moved to Italy, and Riko spent some time with Chika and You, but she just felt like a third wheel around them. She spent a majority of the time in her room, in her sweats, filling herself up on food to keep the loneliness away. 

Riko weighed around 250 pounds, and she had gained 20 of those pounds in the last three weeks alone. Her thighs were meatier than before, her belly stuck out a little more, and there was currently no sign of this growth slowing down. Today’s food of choice were the cookies her mom made recently. Riko was lying on her bed, shoveling cookies into her mouth. They were really good, the sugar doing it’s best to make Riko happier. It had no trouble in making her fatter, but it was having some trouble with the happiness. It worked a bit though. Riko is drumming her belly with one hand and putting cookies in her mouth with the other. After around her twelfth cookie, Riko noticed that her dark green sweater was moving up her belly. Riko tried to pull it down, but it was slowly moving back up. Riko frowned and tried a few more times before giving up. She continued to eat the cookies as her belly became more exposed.

Riko wanted to distract herself with something else. She decided to work on her piano arrangement that she wanted to play for when Mari returned. As Riko sat down on her piano bench, the bench creaked as she sat down. Riko worked on the piece for a while, she had about a quarter of what she wanted for the piece. Riko wants this piece to be perfect for Mari, but she just felt so unmotivated to work on it. After a few hours of working on the piece, Riko decides she needs a break. She felt her stomach grumble in anticipation. Riko was hungry again, and she had eaten most of the cookies, only a few remaining. She drags herself over to the fridge in her kitchen. She grabs whatever she can hold, which includes a pint of vanilla ice cream, some pickled plums onigiri, and some fries leftover from a few nights ago.

Once Riko returned to her room, she placed the food on the table in her room and plopped herself on the floor of her room. Riko ate everything she brought with her. The fries tasted salty and great when mixed with the sweetness of the ice cream. The ice cream was also great on its own. She saved the onigiri for last, it’s sour taste providing a nice palate cleanser from the sweet-salty mix. At this point, Riko was sitting on her bed, enjoying her plum-filled rice balls. Her mom had not necessarily been supporting her daughter’s current habits, but she made the onigiri and bought the ice cream. All this food had left Riko’s tummy taught, and her belly was lightly hanging over the waistband of her sweatpants. She was giving a good rub, which elicited a few burps from her as she rubbed.

“It’s not as good as Mari’s rubs though…”

Riko knew she couldn’t keep doing this. These sorts of habits were unhealthy, at least, doing this every day since Mari left. The amount of food had decreased as the weeks passed by, but she was still doing this every day. This behavior wasn’t healthy, and she should talk to someone about it before it gets worse. So, she decided to send a text to Mari. It was about 7 at night here in Uranohoshi, which was about 11 in the morning in Italy, so Mari should be up. She had talked with Mari a few times, but the time difference made it a little tricky to talk, they texted a lot though. Though, it was nothing like being with her.

**Riko:** Hey, can we talk?  
**Mari:** Of Course! What about?  
**Riko:** I meant over video chat.  
**Mari:** Oh.  
**Mari:** Well, I don’t have class until 2, so I can talk! Give me a second to get my laptop!  
**Riko:** Ok.

Riko got her laptop ready, and sat down in her desk chair, which, much like her piano bench, creaked a bit. Riko frowned slightly but didn’t let it bother her. Shortly after she got ready, she had an incoming call from Mari, which she immediately answered. After a few seconds of loading, Mari was visible, and was wearing what appeared to be one of Riko sweaters.

“Hiii Rikocchi!” Mari said, smiling, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, you look…” Mari glanced at what she could see from her end of the video camera, and it was not great. Riko’s eyes had bags, and she could tell she had been crying semi-recently. She was smiling, but the sadness beneath it was pretty obvious. Around Riko’s mouth were crumbs, and Riko didn’t have a very visible double chin when Mari last saw her. After seeing all this Mari’s shoulders drooped a little, but she had to finish her sentence sometime, “uh…great!”

“Um…you do too, Mari…” Riko said. Though, maybe it was just Riko’s imagination, but Mari looked kind of off to her, but she also seemed to be her normal, bubbly self, so it was hard to tell. Something definitely seemed off, “How are classes?” 

“They’re good, but what’s up with you? You wanted to call me after all.”

“Oh, right. Well, Mari I miss you and just wanted to at least sort of see you, that’s all.”

“I miss you too, Riko. I can tell you haven’t been yourself lately, are you ok?” Riko went quiet for a moment, before deciding to answer.

“…No, not really. I just kind of feel, unmotivated to do anything. All I do is sit in my room and eat until I can’t anymore, and then I sleep it off, and then do it again later. I feel unhappy all the time, and lonely. I’ve tried hanging out with Chika, Yoshiko, Ruby, and Dia when she was in town last week, but I just wasn’t having fun,” Riko stopped for a second, and Mari was looking at Riko with her full attention, looking concerned, but also understanding. She could see tears were welling up in her eyes, “I hate feeling like this, and it stops just for a bit when I’m eating, but food doesn’t taste as good, and…”

“Riko…” Mari said, which paused Riko, “I don’t know if it’ll make you feel any better, but I love you, and I’ve been going through similar things…” Riko looked at Mari a little closer, and she did look bigger than she did before. Her eyes had bags too, “I’ve been overeating constantly, I miss feeling you rub my belly, I miss you, Riko. I talked to Kanan yesterday, and I wasn’t enjoying talking to one of my oldest friends. That just doesn’t happen randomly. So, you’re not alone,” Mari smiled lightly, tearing up a bit, “Riko lets make a deal.”

“What do you mean?” 

“Let’s try to kick this thing’s ass. If you can fend it off, and I can fend it off until I can make it back to Uranohoshi, which will probably be around golden week, we can see each other, and pig out together, how does that sound?”

“Well…I’ll try my best Mari…”

“You’re gonna fail with that attitude! Keep yourself going, go shower after this, your hair doesn’t look like that shining crimson I love, and call up Chika and see if she’s free, or somebody else! It doesn’t matter, doing anything is going to at least make you feel a bit better!” Mari said, “I believe in you, Riko, do you believe in me? Do you think you can do this?”

“I’m not sure Mari,” Riko said, “but…I’ll try my best!” a smile formed on Riko’s face, the first one Mari had seen since she left. 

“Good! Then I’ll have to do my best too!” 

After that, Riko seemed to brighten up, her deal with Mari gave her something to work towards other than her piano work. She and Mari talked until Mari had to go to her class.

“Riko, I have to go, but I believe in you! Don’t ever give up!” Mari said, “Bye! We’ll do this next week to track our progress!” Mari said, Riko said her goodbyes before ending the call. Riko stared at her desktop screen for a while, before doing what Mari said, and heading off to take a shower. Though she decided a bath would be better. After the bath was ready, Riko discarded her clothes, and stepped in.

Riko was sitting in the bathtub, which felt a bit snugger than she remembered it being, and she felt a bit better just getting cleaned. Golden week was about a month away, and school starts next week, so Riko at least would have something to do to distract herself. Riko just had to try, and at the end of the long tunnel, a large feast awaited with Mari. 

After Riko stepped out of the bath and was drying herself off, she got a look at herself in the mirror, and while the depression weight wasn’t necessarily wanted, she didn’t hate what she saw. She was sure Mari wouldn’t mind Riko a little fluffier. 

“Rikocchi! I love your doughy body, it’s so shiny!” Riko said, doing her best Mari impression. She then chuckled to herself. Riko was going to try her best to not mope around all day, so she decided to shoot a text to You. 

**Riko:** You-chan, are you free tomorrow?  
**You:** I should be, why? Do you want to hang out?  
**Riko:** Yeah! I’m not sure what to do though…  
**You:** We’ll think of something! I’ll head over at around 2 tomorrow?  
**Riko:** That should work! Look forward to it!  
**You:** Ok! See you tomorrow! Yousoro! o7

Riko was going to try, and this was just the start. She and You were going to have fun tomorrow, if that involved eating You’s cooking, Riko didn’t mind. Just being with someone was important, Riko thought. She hoped any Italian friends Mari had could be with her. Riko just had to trust her friends could help and trust herself to keep going. 


	2. You's Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You comes over to hang out, and discovers why Riko has unintentionally been avoiding her.

Riko woke up the next day at a not unusual for her lately 10 in the morning, to get ready for her friend date with You. Riko and You hung out a lot over the past year, usually when Mari and Chika were busy with their own non-idol duties. They got along really well.

Riko decided on a light purple sweater for her friend date with You, though the sweater was a bit tight. It definitely fit a week ago though.

“Oh…” Riko frowned, she’d put it on without any issues, but it felt like it could roll up at any time. She finished getting ready and at around 11 heard the doorbell ring, and Riko headed to the door. On the other side of the door was You. Once Riko opened the door, You gave Riko her signature greeting.

“Yousoro! Hi Riko!” You said, as she saluted. She was pretty chubby, weighing in at around 200 pounds. Her thighs were pretty thick, lacking a gap and her shorts kind of enhanced them. Her belly stuck out quite a bit, hanging slightly over her short’s waistband. Her face was also fairly cherubic, sporting chubby cheeks and a double chin. 

You noticed that Riko looked fluffier than when she last saw her. No one had really seen Riko for a couple weeks now. They had invited her out, but she had declined each time. From what You remembered, Riko didn’t have a noticeable double chin. Her clothes also tended to fit her fine. 

“Hey, You…” Riko said, which to You anyway, sounded kind of forced? Riko sounded happy to see You, but some of that happiness sounded artificial. 

“Hey, are you ok Riko? I haven’t seen you in forever!” You said, “Can I come in?” 

“I’m fine You, don’t worry,” Riko said, which was at best a half-truth, “and sure, come in.” Riko gestured You inside, and she waited for Riko to close the door and then started to follow Riko to her room. One thing Riko didn’t realize about her room was made abundantly clear when she walked into her room. You saw what was quite the slobby room. Clothes were strewn about, from undergarments to shirts, sweats, and a skirt or two. These clothes had some food stains and clearly needed a wash. There were also a number of empty food containers laying around, making the room have a bit of an odor. Riko smelled fine earlier though. 

Riko froze upon entering her room, going red-faced from embarrassment. You frowned, her suspicions about Riko were confirmed. You guided Riko out of her room, and then shut the door, to prevent the smell from traveling further. You sighed and looked at Riko with concern. She could see Riko’s eyes held quite a bit of sadness within them.  
“Ok, what is up with you, Riko? That room does not belong to my clean and proper friend, Riko Sakurauchi. Please tell me, what’s wrong?” You said. Riko inhaled, before deeply sighing, frowning, suddenly looking a lot worse to You.

“Ever since Mari left for Italy, it’s been pretty rough on me. I’ve felt…unhappy, unmotivated, and just not feeling like doing anything. Eating took away the pain for a bit, but it was better than wallowing in sadness forever…”

“Riko…” 

“But I talked to Mari last night, and I want to be better, I want to be happy again, so I think just being with you today will help, even if we end up stuffing our faces together…” Riko chuckled at her last comment. She was tearing up a bit at this point, and so was You. 

“Riko…I’m sorry, if I had known, I would’ve…” You said but was quickly cut off by Riko.

“But, you didn’t know, and that’s on me. Sorry I’ve been a bad friend lately, You…” Riko said, starting to admire the floor. Before she knew it, she was in a soft embrace with You, their bellies smooshing together. 

“You’ve never been a bad friend, Riko…” You said, “If anything, I’ve been the bad friend by not even checking on you…” 

Once they finished their heart-to-heart, You wiped her tears away, and then asked Riko a question.

“Are your cleaning supplies in the bathroom?” 

“Uh…yeah. Why?”

“Because we are going to clean your room! You saw it! You’ve lived in it!” After hearing what in hindsight was an obvious answer, she and You grabbed the supplies they needed to clean Riko’s room and got to work. It was a lot of picking up clothes and putting them in Riko’s hamper, throwing away old food containers, and general clean-up. Riko’s desk was rather unorganized, so Riko took some time to fix that. They were pretty tired once all was said and done. Riko talked to You about what she and Chika have done over the break. It wasn’t super interesting, according to You, as they just hung out and watched movies together. Sometimes at You’s house, sometimes at Chika’s. They did eat quite a bit, especially at Chika’s, as having an inn’s supply of food around regularly results in quite a bit of eating. They were both lying on Riko’s bed when they were finished, bed creaking as they put their weight on it. They were both pretty tired from the cleaning.

“So…now what?” Riko asked You.

“I don’t know…Hey! Why don’t we take Prelude for a walk?” You suggested. Riko’s dog, prelude had become quite attached to Riko over the past few weeks. They really got along, and Riko really loved him. 

“Um…sure, though I haven’t walked him in a while…”

“You say that, but I’m sure he’d love to walk with his favorite person!” You said, smiling. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve walked him though, my mom has been doing it…” 

“That’s no problem! Stop worrying, Riko! Call him over!” So Riko did, and Prelude came running. 

“Hey, buddy!” Riko said, picking Prelude up, and began petting him, “You wanna go for a walk?” A bark as a response was all they needed. They quickly got ready and headed out.   
It was a nice today, the sun was out, and it was a little chilly for Uchiura, but You’s jacket and Riko’s sweater were enough to fight it off, and Prelude’s fur was enough for him. As they walked around, Riko felt happier. Being around You, and Prelude made her feel good, better than the food had made her feel, plus it lasted longer. She laughed at You’s jokes and Prelude’s small antics. Well, except for when he had to poop, that wasn’t fun. After about an hour of walking around, they headed back to Riko’s. 

They were pretty tired from that walk. Riko invited You to stay for dinner, and she agreed. So, she sat with Riko and her parents as the pair of friends went to town on Riko’s mom’s excellent cooking. Full and satisfied, You went on home. Riko, exhausted from the cleaning and walking, went to her room after seeing You off. She faceplanted into her mattress, excited that she did something today, she couldn’t wait to tell Mari about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave kudos if you enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Thanks for reading! Sorry this one isn't as fluffy as the other works in the series are. I'm hoping to write a chapter 2 at some point for this fic, so look forward to that! Leave kudos/a comment if you enjoyed it!


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